In my earlier Andorra post, I'd remarked that this tiny landlocked country (an independent and sovereign principality) is nestled within the borders of France and Spain, deep inside the eastern Pyrenees mountains. Andorra's ancient roots and culture go back to the Roman times, and the country was actually at one point part of the Roman empire. Therefore, over the centuries, all three countries (Spain, France, Italy) have played a strong part in its development, with the (genetic) roots of its culture having started with the Romans.

Geographically, both Spain and France are just with 10 miles of Andorra, its size being roughly equivalent to an area of (13 miles x 13 miles). For example, my entire (earlier) post on Andorra explored the remarkable and rugged geography of the country over no more than 15 miles of flight distance. So, today, I was curious about Andorra's historical association with Italy, and specifically with Rome, which is more than 800 miles away from Andorra, across the Mediterranean Sea. To travel from Andorra to Rome on the ground (as in the olden times), one had to take a roundabout route, by starting out first northward negotiating several (high) mountain passes leading into Europe, and then eastward skirting the northern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, and finally down into the boot-shaped Italian Peninsula.

Andorra is believed to have been created (and its independence granted) by Charlemagne, the supreme Emperor of the medieval times. How did Charlemagne reach Andorra...? Charlemagne had (must have) travelled from his Capital, Aachen (Germany), south into France and then into Andorra. Reportedly, in the final segment, Charlemagne's troops came from Toulouse, the Airbus Headquarters...🙂..., and entered Andorra through the "Fontargente Pass", located just north of the Andorra-France border in the Pyrenees (see shot #s 5-8 below as I overfly this part). 

The nearest airport to Andorra is LESU (La Seu d'Urgell), but with a ~4,000 ft runway, and nearly 3,000 ft elevation above sea level, I did not wish to do any daredevilry with my 737...🙂...The next near (major) airport is Barcelona (LEBL), ~120 miles south of Andorra. So, for this post, I've lifted off Barcelona (LEBL), heading directly 80 miles NW to a custom-defined user waypoint (see "WPT01" on my (on-the-ground) ND close-up shot with the (LAT/LONG) co-ordinates of "Fontargente Pass" entered into the FMC). This is the mountain pass in the Pyrenees, through which Charlemagne had entered (and colonized) Andorra. 

I've next flown on northward some more towards Toulouse across the plains, past the mountains, musing about Charlemagne's passage over the same land...🙂...back in the 8th Century...after all, it's the same land that is the silent witness...🙂...before redirecting myself east towards Italy, and finally to Rome Fiumicino airport (LIRF) where I've landed on its ILS Runway 16L.

Hope you enjoy this collection of pictures from my trip (and of this 736 in the colors of the well-known Spanish airline, Air Europa) ...! 

Thanks for viewing...!

[Note: I observed lots of blurriness and washed-out appearances today, for the ground textures. Southern France definitely did not look like what I'm used to from my past virtual visits (so no pictures of it here) ...will re-examine the issue later...]

A new geography lesson 🙂 served up with a dollop of history this time. And despite your concerns, those blurriness issues didn't seem to put much of a crimp in a fine pictorial. Well-done!

Another nice 737-600 set, thanks for showing !

I like this Airplane.. 

cheers 😉

Another great set and narrative, P_7878.

And it may just be that the blurriness was down to the servers? I tend to find they struggle a bit over the weekends here (UK), and I've been aware of a few little stutters today, for instance. Before SU15 (which has made the sim unbelievably smooth for me) I actually tended to not use the sim on Sat or Sun evenings as it ran like a one legged dog most of the time.

Very nice set of shots! 😉 

Folks: Many thanks for taking the time to comment, and for the kind words...🙂....!

Cheers...!